


surfing lessons

by marleymars



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Drowning, Happy Ending, M/M, Mostly silly, Surfing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-23
Updated: 2016-07-23
Packaged: 2018-07-26 04:14:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7559671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marleymars/pseuds/marleymars
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lance tries to show off for the cute lifeguard and winds up dying. How embarrassing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	surfing lessons

**Author's Note:**

> I just wrote this on my phone and it's not edited at all, so enjoy.

"Are you sure this is a good idea? I mean this is literally only like the third time you've ever been surfing." Hunk had a point, Lance realized as he vigorously applied wax to his fancy new surfboard. It was blue with black stripes, and most assuredly the raddest board on the whole beach. Maybe even on all of Oahu.

"Yeah, yeah," he said distractedly, eyes peeled as he scanned the beach for sign of the enemy. In his head, he was fairly certain he could pull this off. Surfing wasn't all that hard, once you figured out how not to fall off the board. And the swells weren't even that big today. "Dude, quit nagging, you're like my mom!" Lance snapped as Hunk snatched the tin of wax out of his hand in a bid to catch his attention.

"I dunno why you always feel the need to show off like this. It never works, man," Hunk reprimanded.

"I'm not trying to show off!" Lance said in protest, feeling mildly outraged. "I'm just trying to prove that I'm more naturally talented than some other people who have thirty year old hairstyles."

"Yeah-huh," Hunk said, unconvinced. "Just promise you won't try anything ridiculous. Because, y'know, if you drown, I'm pretty sure your mom will kill me. And unlike you, I don't have a death wish."

Lance snorted. Hunk always got like this, worrying and wringing his hands for no reason. All Lance was going to do was hit the waves, like they'd been doing anyway for the past few days. Taking Hunk up on his offer of coming back with him to Hawaii for a week during summer break had seemed like such a great idea. Then, the day before, when Lance had been minding his own business, some lifeguard had completely blown up his spot! All because Lance had wiped out, one or two or six times.

Doesn't matter, he thought.Today, he would get his revenge. By surfing like a total badass. I'll show him who needs lessons, he thought as he scoped the lifeguard shack. Where was that jerk, anyway? He'd better not have the day off or something. Lance had better things to do than hang out on the beach all day waiting for him to show up.

"I still can't believe you're making such a big deal out of this," Hunk muttered, reaching down into their cooler for a soda.

"You heard him!" Lance said. "'You should really take some lessons,'" he said in an exaggerated, mocking tone.

"I'm telling you, he wasn't making fun of you, he was being sincere," Hunk said, gesturing wildly in exasperation. "You do need lessons! "

"Shhhhh, shut up!" Lance hissed, "There he is!"

Down the crowded stretch of sand, Lance caught sight of possibly the world's dumbest haircut moving through the throngs. Oh, he'd recognize that mullet anywhere after the head it grew from had insulted him so gravely. It would haunt his dreams forever after.

"It's go time," he said, tone grim, and heard Hunk sigh in defeat behind him.

"Just be careful," Hunk groaned.

Stomach fluttering, probably with righteous indignation, Lance hefted his board and strode confidently down the beach. The lifeguard with the totally heinous haircut, and the ridiculously toned abs had just settled into his tall lifeguard chair by the time Lance caught up to him.

"Hey," Lance called up to him. "Remember me?"

The lifeguard glanced down at him, and frowned. It could have just been Lance's imagination, or maybe the sun, but it looked like he was blushing. "Should I?" he asked, and Lance felt a surge of inexplicable disappointment.

"Uh, I'm the guy whose surfing credibility you insulted yesterday," Lance told him, put out.

"Oh right. You wiped out like ten times," the lifeguard said flatly.

Sputtering, Lance felt his face heating up and thought, Oh hell no, I'm not gonna stand for this! "It was three times! At the most! Anyway, I'm about to go out there and blow your mind with my sick surfing skills! So get ready!"

To his surprise, the lifeguard actually cracked a smile at that, which caused a whole different kind of heat to rise under Lance's skin. "You go do that," said the lifeguard. "Just be careful of the riptide."

"I will!" Lance snapped, rounding on his heels and marching toward the water. Man, I am way too old for these damn hormones to start acting up, he thought bitterly as he strapped his board to his ankle. Not that that had anything to do with this! This was a matter of wounded pride, and had nothing to do with wanting to impress the cute lifeguard.

Okay, stop thinking. My mind is one with the ocean. Be the surfboard, Lance. Right. He could do this, and he totally wasn't nervous. Or showing off!

At least the water was cool, washing over his skin and soothing away the heat. He waded in, then clambered belly down onto his board. Hunk was a surprisingly deft surfer, considering how easily the guy succumbed to motion sickness. He'd spent hours explaining to Lance how to feel out a good swell to ride.

Once he got out past the swimmers, he began to do just that, watching the waves roll in and paddling over the small ones. Trouble was, they were all pretty small. None of them really pushed him up that high as he rode over them. Come on, I need a big one! This was serious business, now. With a glance back at the shore, he was pretty sure he could see that lifeguard watching him. Or maybe just watching everyone, since he was a lifeguard and all.

If Lance couldn't pull this off, he'd be a disgrace. He'd never be able to show his face in Hawaii again. Poseidon was laughing at him from the depths of the ocean at that very minute.

Or was he? A promising wave was rolling his way, and Lance felt his heart jump as he began to paddle with it. Yes! This was a big one! And he was going to do it this time, he was going to stay on his feet! Gripping the edges of the board in preparation, Lance tensed, waiting for his moment.

Now! He pushed up, sliding onto his knees and bringing his feet forward--

\--Only to lose purchase and slip forward, banging his head on the board before plunging off into the water.

Disoriented, he spun beneath the waves, head ringing and all he could think was, Well that was smooth. Cute Mullety Lifeguard was going to be so impressed.

There was pressure on his leg, and then it was gone and he dimly registered that his ankle strap had torn off. He must not have wrapped it properly in his haste to show off. Now he couldn't tell which way was up, and he tried to flail but it was like his limbs had checked out for the day. Arms and legs moved sluggishly, even when he thought he spotted light reflecting off the surface and tried to swim for it.

Shit, he thought as his lungs began to burn. This is not a good start to my summer break. Now I'm gonna drown, and ma is gonna murder Hunk. Why didn't he listen? Normally he wasn't this self destructive, but damn add a pretty face to the mix and he was like a frickin lemming.

Something was pulling, towing him down, and he knew he couldn't fight it. His head was spinning, and his body was useless against the riptide current. Just let go, he thought, surrendering as his lungs screamed for air and black motes danced before his eyes. He hadn't even asked that stupid lifeguard what his name was.

x

"Is he dead? I mean, is he dead dead, or like just sort of dead? You can revive him, right?"

"Sir, please stand back! Everyone get back, give me some room!"

Everything was far away. Lance felt warm, like he was floating. Dying was pretty peaceful, he decided, not really scary at all, and involving far fewer explosions than he'd been expecting.

"Come on, breathe!"

An ache arose in his chest, disrupting the fuzzy feeling that had enveloped his whole being. Not cool. He was ready to kick it in the afterlife, see his abuelo again, and maybe check out Cleopatra.

"Breathe!"

Air was pushing into his lungs, a warm mouth pressed over his cold lips, and he felt himself choking. Water gurgled up his windpipe, and he coughed and gagged in a very unimpressive manner as somebody rolled him on his side and rubbed his back.

"There you go. Breathe. You're okay," an alarmingly familiar voice murmured to him.

"Oh thank God!" he heard Hunk shout, and--were people clapping?! Ohhh nooo. The entire beach had seen his pitiful wipe out, and then watched him drown. They shoulda just let me die. He'd never live this down, not in a billion years.

Cracking open his eyes, he confirmed his other suspicion. Yup. Cute Lifeguard had given him mouth-to-mouth, and holy shit his mullet was all wet and slicked down, and he was regarding Lance with an expression of concern.

"What's your name?" Lance rasped, and the lifeguard looked surprised, but then he smiled again. Lance wanted to see that smile all day every day, on the lips that had brought his stupid ass back to life.

"Keith," the lifeguard said.

"Keith," Lance repeated as he heard sirens approaching. "You know if you wanted to make out with me, you coulda just asked me out first."

"Oh. Lance. No," Hunk whisper-groaned somewhere nearby.

But Keith just flushed red, and said, "I'll keep that in mind."

x

Two days later, Lance stalked the beach until he tracked down Keith the Lifeguard. Not one to be outdone, he dipped his mullet-headed savior and kissed him soundly, then stuffed a piece of paper into a red-faced Keith's hand and said, "Call me, Hero."

Hunk was, of course, not impressed when Lance insisted this had been his plan all along.

**Author's Note:**

> Why is this the first thing I've posted in like two years.


End file.
